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by WATERMELON-S33DS
Summary: prompt from tumblr. eli finds one of his dad's old hideouts, this one just happens to hold a few more memories than the others.


One last kick did the trick, the door easily broke into thousands of pieces, opening the way for Eli. As the air began flowing through the building and shards of wood hit the floor dust was kicked up into the air causing Eli and his slugs to cough.

"Don't worry, it's just a little dust." He muttered betweens coughs. When the air cleared slightly he could see inside, it was nothing but some old furniture and cobwebs, some arachnets must've called this old place home for awhile. Even when this place was in good condition everything must've been falling apart. Eli picked up a picture frame and looked at it, the glass was shattered and the photo within it far too faded to be identified. As he continued looking around, sifting through drawers and shooing away bugs, Burpy hopped off of his shoulder and made his way over to a door on the other end of the hideout. He remembered this door, but not much about it. Usually Will would leave him on a table and enter himself, then he'd leave within a few seconds. Burpy would've gone in himself but it was usually locked soon after the man left it. He leaned down, pressing the side of his head against the floor, and peered under the door. The room inside was remarkebly clean and free of dust, probably due to the small vent on the wall. What had Will been keeping in there that needed this room to be in better condition than the others?

"Hey! Eli!" Burpy called, his words coming out as nothing more than a couple of chirps. He still got the boys attention though.

"What is it?" Eli leaned down and offered his hand to the slug, who trilled and pointed to the door once he found his spot on the teenager's shoulder. Eli grasped the doorknob and jiggled it, locked. No surpise there. This place was old, so Eli figured if he kept trying he'd be able to break it open with ease. With a grunt he threw his shoulder against the wood and pressed all his weight against it. He thought he heard a crack, but the door still stood sturdy. So, he tried again, this time taking a few steps back to get some momentum with a lunge. The door bent slightly when he hit, but nothing changed. He figured it didn't hurt to try the knob again. He got a firm grip on it and twisted it as much as he could while leaning on the door. Just as he was about to quit for the final time, he heard a loud snap, the doorknob suddenly jerked in the direction he was twisting it and the door flew open, throwing Eli onto the floor, and Burpy a few feet ahead of him. Slightly dazed with the wind nearly knocked out of him, he picked himself off the floor and knelt, rubbing his head gently.

"You ok, Burpy?" Eli asked and chuckled as the Infurnus hopped up to him and chirped, shaking dust and cobwebs off. The other slugs purred and churred in laughter from within their canisters as the two stood up. Eli looked around the room, not seeing much until he he turned his attention to the old desk beside him, half eaten by some sort of insect and covered in papers. He leaned forward with caution and took a deep breath before blowing hard and sweeping away a layer of dust with the gust, he coughed and straigtened his posture, waving a hand in front of his face to clear the air a bit. He wiped a few tears and some dust from his eyes and looked down, his breath catching in his throat when he saw what the papers were.

Notes.

They were all notes.

Only a handful of them were finished, resting on top of open envelopes. The rest, however, seemed half done and had messy writing on them. Upon closer inspection he recognized the printing as his father's. These were all notes that were meant to be sent to Eli, or to be left for the boy to find during his journey. They all spoke of hidden treasures, secret tunnels, special techniques and how much he cared for Eli's safety. Eli felt himself beginning to sob, he placed his hands onto the desk and looked down, allowing the tears to flow. He raised his head to look away from the letters and saw something even more heart wrenching all over the walls.

Photos.

Hundreds of photos of Eli as a child, or his mother, or pictures of them all together.

Some of them were from a fishing trip he remembered, his dad had caught a large fish and given it to him to hold for photos. They showed them to his mother when they got home, making her think Eli had caught it.

In another section were baby photos. Things like Eli eating or him taking baths. There were even a few with him and his father asleep, usually in front of the TV.

There weren't many, but there were pictures of when Eli learned how to ride a bike as well. Ordered like a story being told, they started out with him in his gear, helmet and pads. Then Eli going down a hill on his bicycle. A few of them showed him with red and puffy eyes and bandaids all over him after failing to stay steady, resulting in him falling.

In the center of all of it were some random ones. Mostly family portraits, but in the dead center was a photo that was mostly white. When Eli looked closer he saw that it was taken in a garden, with a white arch in it. Under it was a small man with grey hair, he was standing behind a pedestal. On one side of him was a woman, her hair was short and dark, her face filled with extreme kindness. She wore a silky dress and veil that touched the ground, both seemed to be flowing in the wind. She was facing a man, his face was obviously recently shaved. His tuxedo was as white as everything else in the picture. Slicked back hair and blue eyes told Eli that was his dad. This must of been a picture from when his parents got married.

They looked so happy. Eli stepped away from the desk slowly, smiling through all the tears that coated his dusty cheeks.

"I'm sorry... dad... that we didn't get to come down together..." He whispered and rubbed one of his eyes to clear his eyesight.


End file.
